The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant, botanically known as Begonia x hiemalis, commercially referred to as an Elatior Begonia and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘KRELARE02’.
The new Begonia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Ermelo, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new freely-branching Begonia plants with excellent postproduction longevity and attractive flower color.
The new Begonia plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Ermelo, The Netherlands in January, 2014 of a proprietary selection of Begonia x tuberhybrida hybrid identified as code number KV10K1804-003, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Begonia socotrana identified as code number S00, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Begonia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Ermelo, The Netherlands in June, 2014. Asexual reproduction of the new Begonia plant by terminal vegetative cuttings taken in a controlled greenhouse environment in Ermelo, The Netherlands since January, 2015 has shown that the unique features of this new Begonia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.